The Price of Success
by C.BAngel900
Summary: Half human, half Galra. The perfect pawn, the perfect specimen, the perfect soldier, the perfect distraction. Otherwise known... as Keith. At least that's what Lotor thinks, and nothing will stop him from achieving his goal. Sequel to The Price of Failure!
1. Betrayal

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with another story. This one is basically the end of season six, but with ****Shiro**** and Keith's roles reversed. Now, one ****thing** **I**** want to set straight is that I debated a lot whether or not to keep this as a sequel. That's because the only thing that is really gained by reading them in order ****is** **understanding**** of a few references here and there. With that said, ****I**** do recommend reading my ****story**** "The Price of Failure" first, however, ****the**** references aren't super neccessary to enjoy this story if you choose not to. That's all for now. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Do you think Allura's gonna be okay?"

Lance had already asked that question about five times, but no one complained. It felt like the only action they could take to ease their restlessness.

Shiro turned toward Lance and stared out the window at the same point as Lance.

"I understand why you're worried, Lance, but we're just gonna have to trust Lotor. At the very least he hasn't given us any reason not to."

Lance was comforted by Shiro's support, but couldn't stop himself from muttering.

"Not yet."

Shiro put his hand on Lance's shoulder. He was going to say something, but was interrupted by the castle's alarm.

"It would appear that an aircraft entered the castle while we were preoccupied."

Shiro activated his Galra arm and everyone else followed suit with their weapons.

"They're coming toward the bridge, be ready to strike at the first sign of hostility."

The doors to the bridge slid open... and Lance fired, narrowly missing the intruder's head.

"What the literal quiznak, Lance!?"

The voice that rang out from the door was clearly annoyed, but it's owner still couldn't keep the smile out of it.

"I thought you were an intruder! Wait... Keith?"

All the paladins lowered their weapons at the sight of their former red paladin.

"What are you doing here? Not that's it's not good to see you, but... what are you doing here?!"

"No time to explain. Where's Lotor?"

Shiro took a step toward Keith.

"He left with Allura. Why?"

"Because Lotor has been lying to you all, and we need to stop him. Is there anyway to get that ship back?"

At this point everyone was pretty confused, so Pidge spoke up.

"That doesn't make any sense. Lotor's only goal is to help the Galra and restore the universe. Plus we've been watching him this whole time, he doesn't seem that bad."

"I'm telling you guys, he's up to no good. I'm talking off the charts bad. As in harboring colonies of Alteans, bad."

Shiro was a little thrown off by Keith's sudden appearance, so he approached the situation with caution and as much neutrality as he could muster.

"Keith, this is pretty sudden. Do you have any proof?"

"I came here with an Altean from one of the colonies. She's gathering some supplies from the ship I came in, along with someone else. If I go and get her would you believe me then?"

Keith was clearly speaking to Shiro, but, oddly enough, he hesitated, so Lance spoke up instead.

"We'd certainly keep a closer eye on his royal highness, prince Sleazebag, that's for sure."

Keith gave him and curt nod and his eyes showed a flash of appreciation that was so quick, Lance would have missed it if he had blinked.

"I'll be right back."

Keith ran back toward the place where his ship had entered.

"Does anyone else find this a bit weird, like- like really weird?"

No one had an answer or a chance to formulate one for Hunk's question. It seemed they would just have to wait. Wait... and pray that they hadn't made a massive mistake.

Only a few minutes later Keith reentered the room.

On Keith's left was a clearly Galra woman, sporting hair that was purple in the front and pink in the back. She was also wearing a Marmoran suit and looked an awful lot like Keith.

On his right was a girl that seemed to be much closer to his age. She had long blond hair and markings on her face that were reminiscent of Coran and Allura's markings. That told them that this must've been the Altean.

Shiro and the others moved forward to greet them.

"Guys, this is Krolia and Romelle. Romelle is one of the Alteans that lived in Lotor's colony. She definitely has a lot to say."

Everyone else was slightly confused by the appearance of Keith's group, but Shiro seemed unfazed.

"I don't know what this girl has been telling you, but how do you even know it's true?"

Keith seemed taken aback. Of all people he hadn't expected Shiro to be the one to almost shoot him down.

"Come on Shiro, just listen to what she has to say. Trust me when I say that this isn't the kind if thing you can make up."

"Fine, but don't expect us to be persuaded so easily. Lotor has been here helping us while you've been off on a fun little mommy and me adventure."

Keith's eyes went slightly wide and everyone could see the hurt dancing within them. Romelle used this as an opportunity to tell her story. By the time she finished the paladins, minus Shiro, looked sick. And Keith had finally realized something.

"I never said anything about my mother."

Shiro seemed to panic ever so slightly.

"She... just looks a lot like you."

"I never said anything about adventures either."

Shiro's eyes started darting around looking for any exit points. Before he could find anything Keith tackled him.

"Who are you and what have you done with Shiro?!"

The other paladins would've rushed to choose sides, but Lotor and Allura came in at that very moment.

"What is going on here?!"

Keith yelled at Allura while he wrestles with Shiro.

"Allura, get away from Lotor! Krolia!"

Krolia immediately jumped to action and kicked Lotor square in the chest. Afterward everyone took a few steps back and the room fell still. Even Shiro had suddenly passed out. Allura on the other hand was simply confused and slightly angry.

"What is going on?!"

"That sorry excuse for a man is deceiving you all!"

Lotor turned to Allura.

"Don't listen to her. She's simply trying to get in your head and throw dirt on my name."

Romelle scoffed.

"Are you kidding me? Your name would be better off if I put dirt on it! You know why? Because you're the quiznaking piece of trash that held a colony of Alteans against their will and mercilessly killed them off!"

"What? Is that... an Altean? Lotor is-is this true?"

Lotor grabbed Allura's hands and looked her in the eyes.

"Allura, please. You know how much I care about you. We could rule the universe if we wanted to."

"Rule... the universe?"

Allura pulled her hands away and Lotor's eyes went wide.

"No, that was an accident. I misspoke!"

"No. It wasn't any coincidence that you used those particular words, nor was it a coincidence that you turned out to be a lying scumbag!"

Allura grabbed Lotor and threw him onto his back.

Romelle stood at Allura's side.

"Good choice, princess."

"It's the first good one I've made all day."

Lotor wiped the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up. Anger and hurt flashed across his eyes.

"If that's how you want to be, then I suppose I'll just have to take you all on... not by myself of course."

The moment Lotor finished small canisters rolled in through the door behind them and went off, filling the room with smoke.

"I can't see anything!"

"Don't talk too much it could be toxic."

"If that's true then we're doomed already-"

Pidge's voice was cut off by the sound of someone getting hit.

"Pidge! Hunk! Allura!"

Lance called out to his teammates, but got no reply. The sound of bodies falling was, however, getting louder.

Lance turned around just in time to see the primary attacker.

"Shiro-"

The world faded to black and went silent.

* * *

Keith had suspected something was up from the moment he had seen Shiro, but he hadn't expected this.

Now he was stuck in a smoke filled room with the sound of imminent doom getting closer and closer. He felt like he was in one of those movies where someone is dead in the water with a giant shark slowly swimming toward them.

Person after person was getting hit, but Keith couldn't tell where. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on edge, just like he was. He sensed something coming from behind him and struck. There was nothing there, but he felt more paranoid than ever.

_Is this his plan? To make me so paranoid that I end up defeating myself somehow?_

To Keith it sounded like a stupid plan, but everytime he struck the air it seemed to make more sense. He heard lighter fighting sounds, then one last powerful blow. The shark went silent.

Finally Keith could see that the smoke was starting to get thinner. He braced himself, but didn't expect what came next.

He swung his sword, but it was somehow intercepted by someone and when the smoke cleared completely he realized why he had heard noises from all over the place.

Shiro and Lotor hadn't been alone, Zethrid and Ezor were here too. And right now, Keith was surrounded by all of them. He decided that the best option was to try and buy some time.

"What do you want Lotor?"

"I'm here to make good on a promise I made quite some time ago."

He tried to fight and get away, but he didn't get very far before he felt himself getting hit from multiple sides. He took one particular blow that left him dazed and Lotor's generals didn't miss the opening. Before he know it Keith's arms were forcefully jerked behind his back by Zethrid. He choked back a cry of pain.

He managed to look around and noticed that everyone else was knocked out, but seemed relatively fine.

"You leave them alone. Don't even think about touching them."

"You're in no position to make demands. Even so, I wouldn't dream of hurting them. After all, I wouldn't want them to miss the main event. Now, good night, little paladin."

Lotor stepped aside allowing someone else access to Keith. The last thing he saw was a silver Galra arm, hurtling towards him. Then, there was nothing.

* * *

Lotor picked Keith up and gave him to Zethrid, who slung him over her shoulder. All the movement made Keith flop around like a rag-doll. Lotor sighed and walked over to where Allura was lying on the ground, unconscious like everyone else.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way, but I'll save the universe. You'll see. I'll bring everything we wanted to fruition, and though I can't do it with you... I know we'll be together again, someday."

He kissed two of his fingers and pressed them to Allura's cheek. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he stood and addressed his generals.

"Come on then. We've got things to do."

Ezor, Zethrid, and Shiro all followed Lotor out of the bridge. As they walked, Shiro suddenly dropped to his knees. He had his eyes squeezed shut and he looked like he was struggling not to scream.

"Uh... should we... help him?"

Lotor ignored Ezor's question and took a knee in order to look closely at Shiro's face.

"Don't bother we don't have the time. And besides, anything that harms the witches plans is fine by me. Especially since mine are already in motion."

Ezor shrugged her shoulders at Lotor's vague response and followed Zethrid and Lotor into a ship.

* * *

**I can heal you paladin, but you must give something in return. Something neither of us truly wishes for.**

"I'll give anything. I just don't want to hurt them anymore."

**You are a true leader to your team. Because of this I will break the rule and allow you to fly with me once more. Use it wisely.**

"Thank you. I couldn't have led this well without you by my side."

* * *

Shiro woke up shortly after everyone else had. His head was pounding right alongside his heart. He remembered they gotten attacked, but any detail about the recent event completely escaped him.

_Wait... attacked? Attacked!_

Shiro shot to his feet and rapidly looked around the room. He didn't find any sign of immediate danger, but he did regret the action as he fell sideways and the floor moved closer to his face.

Before he hit the ground Shiro felt someone, he imagined it was Keith, rush to his side to help him stay upright.

"You alright?"

Shiro was too busy trying not to throw up to look at the person next to him, but even in this state he knew that that voice wasn't Keith's. The only thing that confused him more than that, was how tense and stiff the person under him had become, almost as if they were afraid.

"What... happened?"

To one answered, leaving a tense silence to fall on the room. Shiro finally tore his gaze away from the wall he'd been staring at in order to look at his fellow paladins.

"Are you going to attack us again?"

Pidge spoke from behind Hunk. Only half of her body was visible as if she was hiding behind him, hiding from Shiro. Not only that, but he noticed that Allura wouldn't meet his gaze and there was a new person he didn't recognize.

"What are you talking about?"

Shiro figured that something, be it his tone or facial expression, must've been pretty convincing, (mostly because they were real) because his teammates faced softened and they finally approached him. Allura specifically came over to help Lance support Shiro's weight.

"Do you really not remember anything?"

Shiro could only shake his head as shame and guilt slowly settled on him. There were a lot of things that haunted him, but the way his team had looked at him, the way they were still looking at him... It had to be one of the worst. Shiro was vaguely away of someone entering the room as he spoke.

"You guys are supposed to be able to trust me. I don't know what happened or what I did, but I betrayed that trust. I'm so sorry."

Before anyone could respond to his apology, Shiro was ripped from Allura and Lance and pushed against the wall behind him by the figure who had entered the room earlier.

"You think "sorry" is good enough?! Do you really think "sorry" will fix what you've done?!"

Pure shock had been the only thing keeping them from jumping to help Shiro, but now that they had gotten over it (mostly thanks to Krolia's yelling) they immediately went into action.

Hunk and Romelle moved behind Krolia and tried to pry her off of Shiro and Allura and Lance once again moved to to Shiro's side to support him.

"Krolia, please! Shiro was his friend, he wouldn't want this!"

The others didn't really understand what Romelle was talking about, but it must have meant something to Krolia. Her death grip on Shiro's neck finally loosened, and they were able to move her away from him.

Shiro fell on his hands and knees, gasping for breath. Lance stood at Shiro's side and looked at Krolia.

"What the quiznak is wrong with you? I get that something happened to Shiro, but it's over now, and we're all… okay." Lance's voice leveled out, and whatever he was going to say next was long forgotten. Because of how everyone had been spread out earlier he hadn't seen it, but with everyone huddled around Shiro it was obvious.

Where was Keith?

"Lotor took Keith. Didn't he?" It was barely a whisper, but everybody heard what Lance had said.

Krolia looked away from the Paladins, but answered Lance's question nonetheless.

"After we awoke I noticed that he wasn't here. I searched every inch of the castle, I scanned everything 10 miles around this ship, but there was no sign of him. When I finally checked the castle's surveillance video do you know what I saw? Keith struggling against Lotor in a 4 to 1 battle, only to lose and be knocked out at your hand."

Shiro felt weak in the knees.

_There's no way. Keith was taken… because of me?_

"Krolia, I...I-"

Krolia cut across Shiro's words. She stood with her back turned, barely looking at him through the corner of her eyes. There was something in her tone that Shiro couldn't quite identify, but somehow it sent more fear though him than having her claws at his throat.

"Keith is in the hands of that slimy, disgusting, excuse for a life form because of you."

Krolia paused, seemingly collecting herself. Everyone looked to Shiro, but he silently told them to wait. Whatever Krolia was going to say, he probably deserved.

"Do you have any idea what Lotor will do to him? He not only has a cherished member of the Blades, but of Voltron and all of its paladins. Keith is going to be tortured physically and mentally, used as leverage, or killed to break you… My son is going to be destroyed, and it's all your fault!"

Krolia left the bridge, but her strangled sobs could be heard throughout the hallways of the castle. There was only one word echoing throughout Shiro's mind, however. That word was son.

"Th-that was… Keith's mother?"

Nobody answered him outright, but the looks on their faces was enough for Shiro.

_What have I done?_

It was crazy. Shiro couldn't believe it, he refused to believe it. And yet, it was happening right in front of him. Keith had finally come back, he had finally found the mother he always believed just left him without another thought, but none of that mattered if Lotor succeeded in whatever he was planning with Keith. Worst of all there was only one person to blame.

"It's not your fault. We'll make sure that won't happen again." Allura tried her best to comfort Shiro, but nothing they could have said would make him feel better.

Not when Keith had been ripped from his mother's arms.

Not when Keith was on the edge of something horrible.

Not when it was all his fault.

* * *

Lance could practically see the light fading from Shiro's eyes. He wanted to say something, but he knew that this wasn't where he was needed. Not now, in any case.

"I'm going after Krolia. Romelle, I would really appreciate if you would start cleaning up around here and... do something about the wolf. Coran and Pidge, you start the search for Lotor and Keith. Allura and Hunk, you guys run a diagnostic on Shiro."

Once he finished directing everyone else, Lance turned to Shiro and switched to his most reassuring voice.  
"We just need to make sure that whatever made this happen isn't lingering around."

Shiro gave a light nod, but refused to look anyone in the eye. The sight of their leader broke Lance's heart, but he knew that Shiro would have to come out of it in his own time, so for the time being he turned his attention to finding Krolia. He was pretty sure he had a good idea of where to start.

Lance made his way down the castle's corridor of rooms until he came to the one he wanted. Keith's room, left completely untouched since he had left. He gave a light knock on the door and walked in.

It was so dark that Lance could barely make out Krolia's figure. She, on the other hand, seems to have no problem seeing him.

"What is it you want?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

All things considered it wasn't the great line, but it was the best conversation starter Lance could think of.

"Do I look okay to you?" Krolia's tone was sharp, and made quick work of letting Lance know that he wasn't wanted.

He was determined to stay anyway.

He turned the lights up just so he could see her, and was stunned by what he saw.

Krolia was sitting on Keith's bed clutching his signature red and white jacket in one hand and staring at a picture that was tightly held in her other. (Lance couldn't tell exactly what it was a picture of, but he had an idea.) Her eyes were puffed and a indigo, (Lance assumed it was a Galra thing) a clear sign that she had been crying.

Despite the situation Lance couldn't help but smile a little. When he had first met Krolia she had seemed stiff and emotionless, but she clearly cared a lot about Keith, and Lance was happy that Keith had finally found what he was looking for.

_All the more reason why we need to get him back._

Lance slowly walked over and sat next to Krolia on Keith's bed. She stiffened slightly, but otherwise didn't acknowledge Lance's presence. It was almost scary how much like Keith she was.

Lance took a deep breath and released it.

"Look… I can't even begin to comprehend what you're feeling, but maybe you can understand what Shiro is going through. I don't know much about Shiro and Keith's history together, but I know enough. Enough to know that Shiro would never hurt Keith if he had a choice. Enough to know that after Keith's dad died, Shiro practically raised him. Not only would Shiro never hurt Keith, but he would give his life for Keith's in a heartbeat. Shiro has to be hurting just as much as you.  
I understand why you're upset, but if you're gonna be angry at anyone… be angry at Lotor."

Lance waited for Krolia to reacted or say something, but the room remained silent. With a sigh Lance got up and walked to the door. He already had one foot out the door when he heard Krolia speak.

"I never wanted to leave him. Galra, human, it didn't matter to me. From the moment I looked at him I knew that he was always going to be my beautiful little boy… Unfortunately the rest of the Galra did not share my sentiments. If I didn't make my return, if I didn't take their attention off of Earth he would have been taken, and as long as he looked human they wouldn't care about anything else. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, and that includes fighting an empire that has stood for 10,000 years."

Lance turned around to look at Krolia. He could already feel the tears in his eyes, but stayed silent, knowing that she had more to say.

"Right now my anger at your friend may be misdirected, but if my son doesn't come out of this alive… there will be Hell to pay."

Krolia bumped one of her shoulders with one of Lance's on her way out of the room. Lance stared after her until she was gone, and then returned to his own room.

Thankfully, he had some time before Shiro was done with his arm dianetics, he needed to cool down before trying to approach their leader.

* * *

"I take it things didn't go well with Krolia?"

It must have still been written all over his face, if that was the first thing Shiro asked when Lance walked into his room.

Allura, alongside Pidge and Hunk, had worked on Shiro's arm for the past few hours in an attempt to make sure that all traces of what they had figured out to be the witch, Haggar, were gone. She had informed Lance that it went well, but that didn't seem to have put Shiro in any better spirits.

"No, it didn't."

"Can't say I blame her. After all, thanks to me her son is as good as dead."

Lance's head snapped up to look at Shiro and he felt something flare up in his chest, but it wasn't the warmth or the sadness he had felt when talking to Krolia. It wasn't the sympathy he'd had for Shiro. No, this was something else entirely. This was anger, annoyance, disappointment, all combined to make a weird mixture that spurred Lance to action.

"You're kidding me right?"

"Obviously not, Lance. You heard Krolia, Lotor's not exactly going to go easy on Keith-"

"Who gives a crap about that?! Keith isn't dead yet-"

"We don't know that-"

"Shut up! Just shut up, Shiro!"

Shiro flinched at Lance's tone and sudden raise of voice. As much as Lance hated to use it, hated to see his leader like this, it was clear to him that something had to be done. And it was up to him to do it.

"Stop acting like Keith is already dead! Stop throwing yourself this disgusting little pity party! The Shiro I know would never give up on Keith like that! And don't give me that "the Shiro you knew is gone" crap, because he's not gone he's right front of me! He's almost unrecognizable, but he's there. He's being pulled in by darkness, but I won't let him fall victim to it, not again. The Shiro I know always said that believing in yourself was the only way to get others to believe in you. Well right now… I don't, but you know who does? Keith. Even when he's trapped and alone in the hands of the enemy… he would never stop believing in you. But none of that means anything… if you don't believe in yourself."

By the time he finished Lance was huffing, panting for breath, and the room fell completely silent.

It hurt. It hurt to see Shiro, the man he had once idolized, reduced to nothing more than a shell of his old self. It was unnatural to have to be the one picking Shiro up, the one who was always there ready to support. It hurt, and Lance had released all of those emotions at once, all directed at Shiro, whether or not they were originally meant to be.

Everything Lance had said, Shiro had needed to hear, he still couldn't help but wonder if he went a little overboard.

Without saying anything Shiro stood and walked out of the room, and Lance lost any thought of having said too much.

"Are you going to another pity party?"

Shiro didn't even turn to look at Lance as he answered.

"Don't be absurd Lance… that can wait until after we find Keith."

Shiro finally turned to Lance. There was determination in his voice and a raging fire in his eyes.

Needless to say, Shiro, their Shiro, was back.

"Thank you, Lance, for reminding me of who I am. I'm sorry I let down."

Lance pulled Shiro into a hug.

"My dad used to say: "you could never let me down, not as long as you keep getting back up." That's how I feel right now. Welcome back Shiro."

They pulled apart, but Shiro kept a hand on Lance's shoulder.

"It's great to be back. Now, let's go save Keith. "


	2. The Perfect Soldier

**A/N: Hey, guys! First, I want to say thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed any of my stories. It still meant a lot that you guys liked them enough to do so, despite the fact that I wasn't the most faithful updater. I know its been awhile and I'm really sorry about that, but I'm back for now and hopefully this chapter will be fulfilling. Secondly, I just wanted to say that I certainly hope you guys have been enjoying the story so far and I hope you keep enjoying the story as well. I'm currently working on quite a few projects as well as my daily life, which might be why I take forever to update, but I'm still trying my hardest to get new chapters out in a somewhat reasonable timeframe. Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon, but I can't really make any promises, since it's going to have some action-y scenes and those aren't the easiest to translate from mind to page... Anyway, thank you for you patience and for sticking with this story and if you're new here, welcome! Now, without further ado, enjoy! **

* * *

Keith awoke on his knees with a groan. Everything around him was completely dark, so he found himself blinking a few times to make his eyes were actually open. Keith slowly stood and tried to take cautious a step forward, but he was stopped by a sharp pain in his shoulder.

_What the...?_

Keith moved his arms to test for the source of the pain and found that he couldn't move them at all. Fortunately his eyes had adjusted enough for him to make out why.

Each of his wrists had an individual cuff surrounding it. Said cuffs were attached to slightly rusty metal chains that pulled his arms an unnatural distance behind his back. Keith tried to see where they were connected to, but they ran so far back that they were engulfed by the darkness around him.

It was a good thing he hadn't been able to move forward too, because he was standing on a lone circular platform that was surrounded by empty space for about 30 feet in any direction. After those 30 feet, Keith assumed there must have been the rest of the room, but with all the darkness be couldn't be sure.

Keith's heart started to race. He was alone, captured, and incapacitated with no way of getting to the team, and, worse than all that, he couldn't get to Shiro. He had to get to Shiro.

The thought that he was still on the castle ship, stuck in his own head, being forced to fight and hurt the people he cared about… it only served to make his heart beat faster.

Keith took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

Patience yields focus-"

"You should have said something, that way we could've gotten started sooner."

Keith squinted his eyes to be able to see through the darkness, but he really didn't have to. That voice was unmistakable, and when its owner stepped into the light Keith felt a sudden flash of anger flare through him.

"Lotor."

Keith tried to glare at the Galran prince, but recoiled when a single spotlight flashed above him, making him feel like some attraction at a zoo.

"What do want with me? What did you do to Shiro?!"

Lotor didn't answer, but instead just smiled and started walking toward Keith.

"Hey, Grape Turd, I asked you a question!"

Before Keith knew it the taste of iron had settled in the back of his throat, and the sound of its cause was echoing through the room.

"I didn't hurt your friends and I even fixed your face, so I demand a little more respect and gratitude than that."

Keith literally had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something he'd regret.

"Better. Now, I didn't do anything to Shiro, I simply used his condition to my advantage. If nothing else, I'm the one who freed him."

Lotor waited, tempting Keith to answer back, he didn't take the bait. Seemingly pleased, Lotor continued.

"As to what I want with you… I told you once that I wanted you as one of my highest held generals, but alas after today's events I doubt you'd go along willingly."

"That's because you're a sorry excuse for a living being and a piece of shi-"

In one swift movement Lotor punched Keith with all the force he could muster, which left the boy gasping for breath, while simultaneously releasing dry heaves, as his stomach was too empty to throw anything out.

It wasn't a fun combination.

Thankfully it seemed someone had extended his chains, so that he could fall to his knees comfortably, and retain the feeling in his arms.

"As I was saying, that wasn't how I wanted things to work out, but I didn't know that you were so irksomely nosey. That can be fixed however and your loyalties can, and will, be changed. So even if you will no longer work with me willingly, I will still get my way and you will still end up groveling at my feet and calling me master."

As he spoke Lotor moved his face closer to Keith's to taunt him, but Keith remained quiet, unsure of what Lotor's plan was. Keith decided that that must've been the wrong move, however, when Lotor backed away and attacked again.

With his hands tied up by the chains that were suddenly tight again, Keith could only sit back and take every punch and kick that Lotor threw his way. Eventually he couldn't even muster the strength to hold back his cries of pain. That was okay though, because he wasn't strong enough to scream either.

By the time Lotor had finished his onslaught he was breathing heavily, and Keith didn't even want to know what he looked like.

Keith was boiling on the inside, he could already tell his fuse was basically nonexistent and his patience had been stretched to its maximum. But it seemed that Lotor wanted him to blow up, so he kept a, relatively, cool head. Because if Lotor wanted it, then it couldn't be a good thing. On top of that, Keith knew from experience that he would never find a way out if he couldn't think rationally.

"There is no way out. No way out, but down!"

As if he had read Keith's thoughts of escape, Lotor suddenly grabbed Keith by his hair and forced it over the edge the platform. As Lotor pushed him forward, Keith felt like his arms were being pulled out of place, and he couldn't help the tears that fell.

"What do you want from me?"

"I want you to stare down this abyss below you. I want you to pretend that you can see all the way down to the bottom. Do you know what's at the bottom of that abyss, Keith?"

Lotor said Keith's name as if he were an old toy that he once loved to play with… it sent chills down Keith's spine. (The way Lotor held his hair made Keith feel like he was going to be bald soon.)

"All the way down there your friends are lying on the floor dead. Perhaps they tripped, and you couldn't catch them… or perhaps they were pushed, and you didn't do anything to stop me… you just sat back and watched it happen. And when it was over… you looked down at one friend in particular, and you smiled. You smiled at the way his little white piece of hair was dyed red, you laughed at the horrified looks on the faces of your friends."

Lotor loosened his grip and moved to whisper in Keith's ear, but Keith still felt like he was being held in place by an anchor.

"Can you see it now, Keith? Your precious Shiro, lifeless on the floor, his arms and legs simply strewn about in a most awkward and uncomfortable position, his eyes glazed over and full of pity that he couldn't save what matter most… his hand still in the position it was in when he reached out to you begging for help, for mercy… and blood. There was blood everywhere. Beautiful crimson. The iron wine spilling everywhere, covering the floors, gushing out of his-"

Keith exploded. Everything around him was red, and he couldn't hear anything over the roaring in his ears. He didn't even notice that his pupils had turned to sharp, straight, Galra like slits, and his sclera had turned a muddy yellow color.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL GET OUT OF THESE CHAINS AND RIP YOUR THROAT OUT! I'LL BREAK THROUGH YOUR RIBCAGE AND SQUEEZE YOUR HEART UNTIL IT'S DRY!"

Keith pushed against the cuffs so hard that they cut into his hands, leaving blood to drip down his arms.

Lotor backed away and, for a moment, allowed a hint of fear to show through on his face. As quickly as the fear came, however, he was able to collect himself once more and evilly smiled down at Keith. The out of place satisfaction on Lotor's face brought him back from his angered state, leaving him dazed and breathless.

"It's over, paladin."

Keith tried to formulate some sort of reply or remark, but the words wouldn't form, and his heart felt like it had stopped.

He had messed up.

He had played right into Lotor's hands.

And now he was left helpless, staring at Lotor's back as he walked off.

"Initiate stage one."

Keith assumed that someone must've been listening in or observing them, because, the moment Lotor gave his orders, the platform beneath Keith split down the middle and opened up.

With nothing supporting him, Keith was left dangling from his chains. They felt tighter than ever around his wrists and his arms felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets.

_I won't scream… I won't give him that satisfaction._

"Oh, and Keith? Thanks for playing. I'll see you on the side… I hope."

That was the last thing Keith heard before his chains were released and gravity plunged him into the dark below.

He screamed then.

* * *

Shiro shot out of bed, Keith's screams from his nightmare were still fresh in his mind. He was breathing rapidly, his heart was racing, and he was completely drenched in a cold sweat.

It had only been a couple hours since they had officially started looking for Keith, but since Lotor disappeared through what they could guess was a wormhole, considering how far he had gotten in such a short time, nobody except Allura could really do anything. The team had convinced him to take a quick nap,so he would be refreshed when they found and had to rescue Keith, but Shiro was pretty sure he was more tired now than when he went to sleep.

Once he had his breathing relatively under control, Shiro made his way to the bathroom to wash his face with some cold water. He turned on the water, collected some in his hands, and brought it up to his face. Right before the water came in contact with his skin, Shiro closed his eyes.

That was mistake number one.

The moment his eyelids pressed together flashes of his nightmares came flooding back to him.

Keith was unconscious on the floor, drowning in his own blood. His body a mangled mess, having been pulled apart and tested by Lotor and his goons. Day after day of tortures, incisions, and injections, all because Shiro couldn't save him.

Keith's own lifeless and beady eyes boring into Shiro's.

"Why didn't you save me? I was counting on you, but you never came. Everyday I told myself, he's thinking of me. He'll be here in no time. I only stopped believing when I took my last breath. You finally gave up on me!"

Somehow those hadn't even been the worst. The most horrifying dream had been one where Shiro was right next to Keith, but unable to do anything but watch him.

In that dream Keith was in a dark room, struggling to fight his rising heart rate, chained up and being taunted and beaten into submission by Lotor until he broke and released a monster within. The whole time Shiro could feel Keith's pain, not just physically, but emotionally and psychologically too. He could feel how scared and vulnerable he was, could see how Lotor brought out the worst in him. In the end, despite how hard he tried, Keith ultimately fell to Lotor, and was dropped at least fifty feet down. Shiro woke up before Keith hit the ground, but he could've sworn he heard the sound nonetheless.

Compared to the others, why was this one the worst? Because it was real. It was the most realistic out of all of them in everything from Keith's emotions and thoughts, to Lotor's actions and motivations. It combined all of Shiro's deepest fears of losing Keith, either to some evil or the demons Keith held within himself, but most of all because the whole time Shiro was right there, and he was powerless to help the boy he had considered a real member of his family for so long.

All these memories surfaced at once, causing Shiro to ditch the water and go back to see if Allura had made any sort of progress. He was just at his door when he heard a noise from inside the room behind him. He took a step backward and turned around to see where it was coming from.

Mistake number two.

Standing in front of him was Keith… but a different version of him.

This Keith was taller and more muscular. He had sharp slits for eyes and yellow sclera, knife sharp pointed teeth and claws that could rival even the toughest wild animals. From his head he had grown a pair of almost catlike ears, but not in the cute way, and, the more Shiro looked at him, the more purple he seemed to become.

It was Keith, but it was a Keith who had given in to the dark side of his lineage. The Keith who had accepted that in the midst of a war sacrifices were going to have to be made… and it was victory or death. It was the Keith that everyone, including Keith, had been at least a little afraid of, without even meaning to.

Above all, it was the Keith who had no problem using Shiro's moment of hesitation to go on the attack, and rip his throat out in one quick swoop. Laughing all the while and relishing in the Da Vinci worthy painting of Shiro's blood on the wall.

* * *

Keith wasn't sure how long he'd been falling, and screaming, for, but his throat was already so dry that it hurt.

After about five minutes, however, he gave up on the novelty of screaming and stopped bracing himself for an impact he was sure was never coming.

He was wrong.

It seemed as if the moment he let his guard down, he was immediately blindsided.

_Figures._

The pain came all at once. It was like nothing Keith had ever felt before, and neither in the moment, nor years later would he be able to verbally and accurately describe it… but "Like hitting concrete" was a good place to start.

For a minute, he thought it was concrete. Afterall, it was hard like concrete, it hurt like Hell-erm- concrete, and Keith was pretty sure it could've broken his bones like concrete too. In fact, he was surprised it hadn't killed him already.

So what deterred him from thinking it was concrete? Simple: He started sinking.

_Well, I'm sinking pretty fast, so at least I know it's not liquid concrete… What is up with me and concrete?_

(It was probably the concussion)

Oddly enough, as he was immersed in the mystery liquid all of Keith's pain slowly disappeared, he could feel his previous wounds mending themselves in a moment's notice, and his energy that had once been zapped away by Lotor was returned.

As the pain subsided an uncomfortable chill ran up Keith's spine and quickly turned to something much worse: a burning cold that took him right back to reality and revealed exactly what this substance was.

Quintessence.

He was sinking in quintessence.

There was no air in quintessence.

He started to panic.

Keith against the strange liquid-energy and barely managed to kick his way up through the surface. He took a deep inhale as he did so, and began to shiver violently as he tried to catch his breath.

Keith hadn't thought that swimming to the top of the quintessence would have taken that much out of him, but all of the sudden his entire body, including his mind, felt like lead. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to stay afloat, he had no choice but to take one last deep breath, and let himself sink.

Initially the quintessence had, obviously, been freezing cold, but the further Keith sunk, the hotter it got. He was too weak and disoriented to care, so he just kept going.

But all of the sudden the water went from being somewhat warm, to boiling hot. The sudden change caused Keith's eyes to fly open, and for him to take a sharp breath. In the process getting a lungful of fluid.

Keith's hands flew to his throat and his mind began to race.

He was drowning. He had to get out. There was no way out.

_Come on, Keith. You need to calm down. Patience yields… Happiness? Hunger? More patience? No, that's not right…. Focus yields patience? Ahh, that sounds wrong too._

_How could I forget? That one guy I know says it all the time… What was his name? Ki? Midori? Kuro?_

Try as he might Keith couldn't seem to remember the phrase, person, or anything else for that matter. In fact, he couldn't even remember where he was or how he had gotten here.

Keith looked up and saw the fleeting image of a man with a tuft of white hair and scar across his nose. Keith couldn't pinpoint a name, but he could tell this man was important. He slowly reached out his hand, but the image faded away just before he could touch it.

One-by-one, more images began appearing: Some Cuban guy in blue, a woman with white hair, a short kid, a bulky guy with a headband, some dude with an orange mustache, and the man with the scar again, only this time he appeared to be gently smiling down at someone. One-by-one they all disappeared.

He had no idea who these people were, but Keith could tell he had begun crying anyway.

He began to lose consciousness, but stubbornly reached his hand out once more to touch the man with the scar on his nose, the only one that had yet to disappear.

Keith couldn't tell if he had touched it, because it faded to black alongside everything else.

He mouthed something he couldn't quite make out for himself, and gave in to his exhaustion and the screaming in his lungs.

Keith's back finally bumped into something solid underneath it and, in a moment, everything he knew was lost in the darkness.

* * *

Shiro shot up in bed and immediately his hands flew to his throat. He was once alain breathinghardy, gasping for air as if he had been drowning. It took him a long time to register that he was fine, that dream had been so real.

Correction. Both of them, had been so real.

_A dream in a dream… great._

Shiro looked to the side at his clock. They didn't have much point in space when it came to telling time, but they still held the ability to keep track of its endless passing. When Shiro had finally been convinced to take a break and sleep the clock had read "11:56 PM." Now it read "1:55 AM."

An two hours had passed, but Shiro was no more rested because of it. If nothing else, he was actually more weary and losing hope fast. Afterall, if they had made any sort of progress in their search, the team would have woken him. Shiro was sure of that.

He was also sure that every second he wasted, was just another opportunity for Lotor to hurt Keith, and for Keith to slip away.

Still, Shiro couldn't stop from taking another second to pinch himself before he left for the bridge.

"Hey, Shir- WHOA! You look like crap!"

Allura practically flew to Lance's side from where she was standing… and elbowed him in the ribs. She hit him so hard that he dropped to the floor.

"I appreciate it, bbt didn't have to do that Allura. If I look anything like how I feel then Lance is probably right."

From the floor Lance weakly spoke.

"You couldn't have said that before she hit me?"

Allura ignored Lance and walked closer to Shiro.

"As much as I hate to say say it, Lance is right. What happened to you?"

"Nightmares. Same as always, but also different somehow?"

Allura grabbed Shiro by the shoulders and looked right in his eyes.

"Different how?"

"It's not important right now. What is important is realizing that Keith is on serious danger."

Lance, having gotten up from the floor, followed Allura to Shiro, his eyebrows were knit with worry and confusion.

"Um, we already know that Shiro. I mean, come on, he's with Lotor. Of course he's in danger!"

Shiro sighed deeply and walked past Allura and Lance as if he couldn't even see them there. He only stopped when he got to the window at the very edge of the bridge.

Shiro lifted his arm up and gingerly touched the window, as if he was reaching for something out of his grasp.

"It's more than just knowing he's somewhere dangerous, Lance. It's like… I can feel him. I can feel how scared he is, how alone he is. I can- I can feel him slipping away. Losing himself with every passing second. And if you would have seen what I saw, had the dreams that I've had… you'd fear the worst too."

The room went silent except for the sounds of breathing. Nobody moved as the atmosphere around them tensed.

The silence was suddenly cut down when Allura snapped her fingers, making both Shiro and Lance jump.

"That's it!"

When it didn't seem like Allura would elaborate, Lance and Shiro voiced their questions at the same time.

"That's what?"

"How did I not see this before?"

Allura continued to ignore them and began typing on one of the main consoles.

"See what?"

"It was so obvious."

"Princess!"

Allura stopped her typing and suddenly whipped around. A noticeable blush rose to her cheeks when she realized how she had been acting.

"My apologies, but I think I've figured out the key to locating Keith."

Shiro immediately stepped forward.

"What is it?"

"It's you, Shiro. Or, more specifically, your connection to Keith. I already knew that you and Keith had a history before becoming Paladins, and I knew that you are also both connected as Black Paladins, but I thought to bring these connections together."

Slowly Shiro began to put the pieces of Allura's thoughts together.

"So you think I can connect to Keith and find him?"

"Not on your own, no. What I'm saying is that those connections together are already so strong that you have gained the ability to see the way Keith sees. So if we utilize your bonds through each other and the Black lion alongside my Altean magic, then there's a good chance we could find Keith anywhere in the universe."

Allura paused to allow any interjections, none of which came, and continued.

"But our abilities rely on the strength of your connection. If you have any sort of doubts-"

"I don't."

Allura's face relaxed and a slight smile spread across her face.

"Then allows us to begin right away."

* * *

Lotor walked down a long, dimly lit corridor, only stopping to enter through a single door at the end of the hall. Behind the door was a small, square observation room, overlooking another deep (currently dark) room. Sitting in front of a small control panel was a very scared looking Galra soldier. At the very end of the room was a massive, reinforced iron door.

Lotor turned to the soldier and spoke.

"Open the door. I wish to see our little experiment."

The soldier whipped around, looking at Lotor like he was crazy.

"W-with all due respect, sir, I'm not sure that's very… safe idea. We've already sent five high ranking soldiers and three others to check on him and none have come back."

Lotor quickly dismissed the soldier, though his patience was running thin.

"That's why I have come in person."

"I don't doubt you could've tamed him at one point, sir, but he's becoming more unstable by the minut-"

Lotor cut across the soldier, continuously telling himself that he couldn't kill the soldier because then he'd have no one to open the door.

"Good! Now open the door or I won't hesitate to kill you and find someone else who will."

"Y-yes, sir. My apologies, sir."

As the Galra soldier pressed the buttons on his console, the bug door, very noisily, unlocked.

Lotor walked through the door and descended the long stairs that led further into the darkness. There weren't that many steps, but getting to the bottom still felt like entering a new world. It was dark and empty, desolate and cold. Perfect for keeping monsters in, and victims out.

The moment Lotor's foot left the last step, entering him fully into the room, something jumped out at him from the cover of the shadows. Despite the surprise it caused, Lotor didn't do so much as flinch and the beast landed right in front of him, holding a bloody Marmoran knife to his throat.

They stood like that for a moment before realization flashed across the beast's face. He took a knee and bowed before Lotor.

"My Lord."

"As much as I love seeing you now to me, we are equals now. At least we will be, if you pass one last test."

"What do you require, my prince."

Lotor walked around so that he was standing behind the figure.

"Voltron's precious leader is coming here to kill me. I want you to intercept him and keep him busy long enough for me to put my plans into motion. Should you kill him, then you'll finally become my top general, and everyone will know the name, Keith Kogane."

As the lights flashed on, Keith turned toward Lotor, revealing a sinister smile and a sadistic look on his eyes.

"Nothing… would please me more."


	3. Forever In My Heart

**A/N: Hey, guys, I'm really sorry about the long wait for this chapter and I'm extremely grateful to everyone who read and stick with it whole I was gone. I love writing so much., but sometimes that feels like a but of a detriment because everytime I'm about to write I get hit by this fear that people won't like it or that it isn't as good as I think, but I'm glad i found it in myself to finish this chapter in the end. Lastly, I wanted to thank pearljoann for dropping, not only the first review, but for reminding me that perhaps might works are at least somewhat good and that someone is taking the time to read them. Thank you again, and enjoy! :)**

* * *

Shiro flew through space, faster than he could ever imagine. Once Allura had figured out how to use his and Keith's connection, it hadn't taken them long to pinpoint Keith's location. The moment they did, Shiro was out the door and back in Black, who, with much dismay, had given Shiro permission to use him only one last time. Black had told Shiro it was because it took so much of the energy created by their connection to break Haggar's spell, but he suspected it also had something to do with her old wounds from Zarkon's betrayal.

As sad as that made him… He couldn't really blame her. He only wished that she would forgive him someday, and, regardless of all interference, this weighed heavily on his mind as he landed near Lotor's current base.

Once he was in the base, Shiro waited for his helmet to give the okay, then took it off and inhaled the air around him deeply. It smelled like iron and fear.

It was unsurprisingly easy to infiltrate considering the fact that there were no guards, alarms, or any sort of defense system. Shiro had just registered how odd that was, and how much it smelled like trap, when a glimmering red puddle caught his eye.

"Keith."

Of course, there was no way of telling whether or not it was actually Keith's blood, but one way or another it spelled trouble and made Shiro's heart race. He immediately broke into a run, following the -now trail- of blood.

Eventually the trail of blood stopped, but Shiro continued on regardless, barely aware of where he was going. He walked for what seemed like hours in the barely lit compound.

Every now and again he registered the fact that he had no idea where he was going.

Sometimes he felt that he had already been to an area as he walked through it.

Occasionally, he stopped and thought about how familiar everything was, and how easy it would be to get hopelessly lost.

Regardless, he pressed on, trying desperately not to let the reality of the situation crush him underneath its weight, and fighting desperately against the daunting sense of doom that seemed to blow in with the wind, following him wherever he went.

The only sound was his echoing footsteps, the only thing he could see was the ground in front of him, both repeating endlessly and growing warrier as he went deeper. Eventually the silence got to be too much, so Shiro filled it in his own way.

"Shiro's Log: I don't know what's scarier… the deafening silence or the fact that I've resorted to talking to myself. Regardless, I feel like I've been walking for hours, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere. I just hope I'm not too late..."

* * *

"Shiro's Log: Where are you Keith? What did they do to you? Are you okay? Will you even be there when I find you, or will something else entirely be waiting for me? Please, just hold on a little longer. This hallway will end and so will our troubles, I just need to see you again."

* * *

"Shiro's Log: This place is crazy. It messes with you mind, drives you insane just with its presence… I need to get out, but I have no idea how I even got in, and what's that noise?! Who's there?! Come out and face me, or I swear I'll attack!"

Shiro frantically moved his head from side to side, scanning for any potential threat. Nothing came, but that only made the situation worse.

Shiro began a fast walk forward, suddenly aware of the walls, floors, and everything on them. Scratches that pierced the metal walls, each laced with fear, pools of blood lying on the floor, and dents all over the place. All signs of a losing battle. The same battle that Shiro was fighting.

Tears began to leak out of Shiro's eyes as the noise seemed to get closer and closer.

This was it. With no back up, no way out, and no way to fight back, he would die here. Lost and alone, unable to save Keith or himself. .

Thunk.

_No._

Thunk.

_No!_

Thunk.

"NO! Leave me alone!"

With his eyes squeezed shut, Shiro sank to his knees and gripped his head in despair.

Suddenly Black's presence washed over Shiro, giving him the courage to face whatever was trying to attack him, and crack one eye open.

It was a good thing he started that way too, because, right where he was looking, was a message scratched hastily into the floor.

Slowly he reached out and touched each word. His hands were shaking like crazy, but as Shiro traced each letter they appeared clearly in his mind.

_Gas in air._

_Helmet. _

_Watch your-_

Each line dragged off on the floor as if the writer was in a struggle against someone. Shiro didn't have to work hard to decipher the first two, but his delirious mind took awhile to react to them.

"Gas in air... Helmet... Gas in the air... Need helmet..."

_My helmet!_

Shiro immediately reached to his belt, where his helmet had been hanging, and threw it on his head. The moment he did, he found himself breathing as if there hadn't been oxygen in the air. He slid down the wall to sit and finally relaxed. (At least more than before)

After a few big gulps of air the noise suddenly stopped, and Shiro found that he was thinking a lot more rationally. The only thing that still worried him was the last line, which was clearly more incomplete than the others. But as Shiro got closer to it he noticed something else next to the words: A very poor drawing of what, Shiro assumed, was a heart.

"Watch my heart? Why would I need to-"

But Shiro cut his own question off, as he saw his heart rate, which was monitored by his suit and shown on his helmet when it reached critical. More specifically it was slowly lowering from a high of almost twice as much as it should be.. Shiro's hands flew straight to his chest and he began to consciously control his breathing.

"Some sort of fear gas, huh? Lotor, you-"

Shiro stopped there for fear of making "Shiro's Log" anything worse than PG. Instead of cursing Lotor out, he turned his attention back to the strange message on the floor and wondered who could've left it there and where they were now.

"If I happen to come across them, I'll do everything I can to get them out of here. I owe them that much."

Unfortunately, as much as he hoped, even Shiro knew that if the message's writer was anywhere near here… he was unlikely to be found. With a solemn face Shiro reached out to touch the message one last time. After a moment of silence, he picked himself back up and began down the trail.

* * *

Before long Shiro finally made it to a room he hadn't been in before, but one that felt all too familiar nonetheless. It was the room he had seen in his dreams. The room where Lotor had hurt Keith, and Keith had fought a losing battle.

Shiro looked carefully around for any sign of Keith, but the only thing that stood out to him was a small, dim light, coming from a window high above the room.

Using his helmet's flashlight setting (those things could do just about anything) Shiro was able to locate a door that, when opened, reveal a long corridor void of any turns or surprises. Shiro thanked God for that as he walked through it, easily making his way through the corridor and the door that it lead to.

When he saw the giant, reinforced, iron door, Shiro knew that this was it. For better or worse, he would find something in that room, and he hoped Keith would be there too. The door seemed to be broken, so it didn't take anything more than a couple full-force pushes from Shiro to get it open enough for him to pass through.

On the other side of the door was a steep trail of rusty and very creaky stairs. As Shiro descended them he enter a new room that was bathed in an eerie red light. Lining the long black walls were massive columns that, despite their size, were only about half of the way to the ceiling, which was so high up Shiro couldn't even see it. In fact, Shiro really couldn't see much in the room. Every wall was completely black and void of any sort of detail, and they along with columns were so tall and oppressive in their size. The whole thing felt claustrophobic like a cage, intended to keep something horrible inside.

Shiro really wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Keith, if you're here call out! It's just me."

For a moment the room remained silent, but suddenly a quiet voice echoed from the inside of the room.

"Shiro? Is that really you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Where are you?"

Shiro slowly walked in a circle, hoping to identify Keith's position.

"I-I'm up here, but Shiro you have to leave. Now."

Shiro squinted his eyes and tracked Keith's voice to the top of one of the columns. He wondered how Keith could've gotten up there, but decided that was a question for another time.

"I'm not leaving without you, Keith."

"Shiro, you don't get it. We aren't both getting out of here."

There was an undeniable streak of fear in Keith's voice as he spoke, but there was also something else that Shiro couldn't quite identify.

"Keith, what's going on here? How did you get up there anyway?"

"Guess I'm busted, huh? You see, Shiro, when I said that we weren't both getting out of here… I meant that you aren't getting out of here!"

Fully aware of Keith's position, Shiro turned toward the column he had been perched on only to find Keith coming down to strike him. In his shock Shiro was barely able to get Galra arm up in time to block the strike. The sparks created by the impact allowed Shiro a fleeting glimpse of Keith's face. It wasn't pretty, but Shiro didn't really have much time to admire it anyway.

Faster than he had ever moved before, Keith, using Shiro's arm as a springboard, sent himself back into the air, planted his feet on another column, and used the momentum built to push himself hurtling into Shiro. Meanwhile, Shiro himself could only watch, dumbfounded, until the moment he felt the impact and went flying into the far wall of the room.

Behind Shiro the wall cracked, but it still managed to hold him as he got stuck in the dent created.

Before Shiro could even catch a breath Keity was on him once again, sending Shiro through the wall with a powerful kick to the chest.

The hole in the wall lead directly outside of the base, but they were far from the surface of the planet because of how deep the room had been built.

Shiro bounced once, twice, and skidded a few more feet before coming to a stop on the rocky floor of the other side. He managed to get himself to his hands and knees, but his arms were shaking and too weak to bring him any further. Keith's figure appeared in his vision, but his vision was far too blurry for Shiro to see Keith clearly.

Keith grabbed Shiro's hand and got face to face with him, whispering maliciously in his ear.

"I'll be waiting upstairs; try not to disappoint."

Shiro turned his head to look at Keith, but by the time his body caught up to his mind's instructions, Keith was gone. The chills in Shiro's spine and the fear that was enveloping his mind; however, gladly stayed behind.

With a lot of pain and even more struggle, Shiro slowly moved so he was leaning on the wall next to him. He needed time to process and plan his next move.

Somehow the underground tunnel manage to be more well lit than the room Shiro had found Keith in, but there was still barely any visibility. At the end of the tunnel was a small elevator. Shiro assumed it lead to the surface since Keith had taken it to go "upstairs."

_Keith. _

Just thinking his name made Shiro's heart hurt more than any of his injuries, though his ribs were really trying hard for first place.

As much as it hurt, Shiro knew that he didn't have the time to wallow. His team was counting on him; his brother was counting on him. Even this _thing_ that had stolen Keith's face was counting on him, and Shiro intended to put on a show. He was never one to disappoint.

It was only once he tried getting up that Shiro realized an odd weight in his hand; Keith had left something for him. Shiro opened his hand and found two little pills. Sloppily attached to them was a note that said, "Chew."

_Short, but effective._

It sounded so much like Keith, it made Shiro smile. Thinking back, Shiro had noticed that Keith's hand seemed to have given him these absentmindedly, as if he hadn't meant to. For a moment, Shiro wondered if, despite what he'd seen, more of Keith than he thought was still there. He wondered- no -_hoped that_ Keith could still be saved, but after what he'd seen in his dreams- and in real life- he had to be prepared for the possibility that the Keith he knew was gone.

Without another thought, Shiro all but threw the pills in his mouth and chewed them down, fully trusting that they wouldn't kill him.

* * *

Beyond the elevator a whole new world awaited Shiro. The room was, arguably, the newest and nicest part of the facility, but there was still nothing "nice" about it.

There were four walls in the "room," but no floor or ceiling. If not for the maze of tubes and catwalks that hovered above the cavern, and made up the middle portion of the room, the whole thing was empty. At least, Shiro assumed it was; it was better than trying to imagine what the dark expanse below him held, especially since it seemed to run quite deep into the planet itself. Other than the darkness, that seemed to be crawling up the walls, the rest of the room was bathed in an eerie violet glow.

As Shiro took in the sights, he didn't stop his guard for a second. Thankfully, that meant that he didn't miss the sound of a single step coming from the surface above him, or the way his hair stood on end, warning him to move.

Shiro jumped back just in time to fully dodge a flying Keith, who, sword in hand, had jumped out and attacked Shiro the same way he had when he first revealed himself. As Keith landed he plunged his sword into the ground underneath their feet, a ring of fire radiated outward from it.

_Of course the sword is on fire._ Shiro thought bitterly, but what really caught his attention was the fact that the sword was none other than a bayard. It took the form of the sword Keith used as a paladin, but it was sharp and straight on one edge, and had a jagged pattern cut into the other. Shiro wasn't sure where it had come from, but it was there. Shiro assumed that it must've been man made, designed to look and function like one of their bayards, but lacking in any connection to , that didn't seem to make it any weaker.

"Oh, this? You guys could do it too, if you weren't so _weak_, so _afraid_ of the power. You're not saviors, you're just _cowards_. You can't even look me in the eye."

He was right, Shiro had been avoiding looking at Keith, seeing the damage that Lotor had done to him. He thought it would make it easier to fight Keith if he imagined him as some monster and not the kid he had known for so long. It probably would've helped, but that's not what Shiro wanted or what Keith needed.

He needed someone to look him in the eyes, beyond whatever changes he had gone through, and see the real Keith. The paladin, the pilot, the friend; not the monster that Lotor had made, the one he had always feared he'd become.

Slowly, Shiro dragged his eyes onto Keith. He started by looking at his height, his build, his clothing, anything but his face.

In terms of his build, Keith looked exactly the same as he had in Shiro's dreams: Taller, more muscular, with a tense edge of confidence in his stance and the way he carried himself. It was different from the confidence Keith once had. That confidence had been fragile and calculated, nonexistent and constantly questioned when Keith was alone. It was designed to make others think he was confident, just another defense alongside the walls he had built up. Now it served as a reminder that this Keith could and would kill anything that came across his path, regardless of who or what it was.

To accompany his new weapon, Keith wore a suit of armor identical to Shiro's (and all the other paladins), but, where theirs was colored to match their lions, his was colored a deep purple.

Finally, Shiro dragged his eyes up to meet Keith's gaze. He knew that it was necessary, but couldn't stop himself from sincerely regretting it all the same. Because standing right there was Keith. It wasn't the Keith that had grown ears and a tail and sported claws and people skin form Shiro's dreams, no. This was much worse, because it was just Keith.

The Keith that Shiro had been, admittedly, somewhat afraid of even before he learned of aliens or the boy's connection to them.

This was Keith devoid of everything that made him who he was. He was nothing but anger, hatred, and resentment at the world for everything it had done to him. It was the Keith with no love or compassion in his heart, and no moral compass to stop him from taking whatever he wanted and giving back all the hurt he had received tenfold.

His eyes were nothing but sharp slits and sclera had yellowed slightly, but there was no denying that this was Keith. Cold blooded and ruthless, but it was Keith.

Keith took a step forward, making Shiro take an involuntary step back. As hard as he tried, Shiro couldn't take his eyes off Keith's face and the shadows cast on it by the fires around them, nor could he stop his own eyes from widening in fear.

Keith seemed to catch the motion and smirked.

"Tell me, Shiro, what is it about this face that makes you so afraid? Does it remind you of memories you'd rather forget? Nightmares you never knew you'd had?"

It did.

Seeing Keith like this reminded Shiro of the worst points in the boy's life. The times when he was most vulnerable and defensive at the same time, with a wild look in his eyes like a cornered animal. The only difference was that this time Shiro was the one cornered and Keith was getting ready to pounce.

"Keith, please, I know you're in there somewhere. I don't want to hurt you."

Keith hesitated, eyes glazing over for a brief second, before throwing something at Shiro, who, thankfully, caught it.

It was his bayard, which, until now, Shiro hadn't even realized he'd lost. He gave keith a look of surprise, but didn't hesitate to activate it. As keith gave his reasons -"the battle wouldn't be as fun if you couldn't fight back"- Shiro's bayard formed into exactly what he wanted, a sword. _Keith's_ sword.

"Enough talk."

Not a hint of recognition flashed on Keith's face as he lunged toward Shiro, blade at the ready.

_Clang!_

_Clang! _

_Clang! _

With every clash of their swords fire radiated from Keith's blade, forcing Shiro further back and singeing his eyebrows.

Shiro knew that he had to get the upper hand, and he couldn't do it by fighting by the rulebook. Keith was wild and unpredictable when it came to fighting. On a good day he was unafraid to take risks, but today he was also willing to play dirty.

The next time Keith brought his sword down, Shiro met it with his own and push back as hard as he could; enough to throw Keith off his balance. From there Shiro did the dumbest thing possible, and jumped down to a lower platform.

The moment his feet hit the ground, Shiro dropped into a combat roll, stopping his momentum. When Keith repeated the same trick for the third time, Shiro was ready.

He whipped around and, rather than just dodging, he clashed with Keith's sword and followed through, finally getting a good hit in. It only resulted in a scratch on his armor, but the idea that it could have done more damage made Shiro's stomach lurch. Still he looked up at Keith, perhaps more self satisfied than he should have been, only to find him clutching his head with his free hand. They hadn't been fighting long, but somehow Keith was already huffing.

Because Keith was clutching his head Shiro could only see one side of his face, but there was an undeniable sense of lunacy found in every feature, from his eyes to his smile, that Shiro was certain was mirrored in his left side. It was only accentuated when Keith began shouting like a mad man, quickly losing the composed confidence he had held only moments ago.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! I'll end this right here and you'll have no choice but to sit there and watch. Does it make you happy, knowing how useless you are, how easily he tried to kill you?"

More than anything he had seen all day, it scared Shiro when he realized that that Keith no longer seemed to be speaking to him.

The sight made him forget their current situation and he reached out a hand despite himself, only to pull it back when Keith acknowledged his presence once more.

"I don't want _your_ pity, either!"

Keith removed his hand from his head and used it to grab his Marmoran knife from his belt instead. Immediately the knife sprang to life and extended into its true form: Another sword.

Keith was ambidextrous. Shiro had forgotten that "little" detail. He didn't, however, have much time to ponder his oversight because Keith, now duel wielding, began his attack.

Somehow each of his movements was even more wild and desperate. Every swing of his blade was charged with power, but his form was sloppy and he seemed to have forgotten or totally disregarded all the training he had done. He wasn't relying on patterns, but he wasn't following his instincts either. He was fighting like his life depended on it, rushed and panicked.

Like it was victory or death.

Shiro had to activate his Galra arm just to keep up. He wasn't totally ambidextrous like Keith, but he could use his left arm to wield a sword if he had to.

At least he thought he could, but when Keith brought both his swords down to Shiro's own sword, he couldn't find the strength to fight him off. His sword went flying out of his hand, turning back into a bayard before hurtling toward the abyss below. Now he only had one weapon against Keith's two. Needless to say, he was pretty much doomed.

Step after step, Shiro was forced back, getting closer to the wall behind him. Back against the wall, and with nowhere else to go, Shiro stopped running.

As Shiro stopped, Keith slowed to a walk too.

"Tired? Or are you just ready to die?"

Shiro didn't even get a chance to answer as Keith ran him through.

_Rude._

Somewhere in his mind Shiro desperately wanted to move, wanted to reach out and run away, but the sword through his stomach kept him tacked to the wall. The sluggish bleeding of the wound begged Shiro to give up, to stop fighting. It screamed out that Keith was too far gone. Beyond saving and beyond his reach.

Shiro told that side of him to shut up.

He told it to go back to whatever hole it crawled out of and die. Because even beyond yellow sclera and slitted pupils, his Keith was still in there. His Keith never gave up. His Keith would fight tooth and nail to come back to the real world -to Shiro- if only he had a way.

"Keith," Shiro dug deep, pushing through his despair and fears to remember the Keith he knew, and bring him back to the light. "I know you're in there, and I know you're hurting. You might be disappearing, even as I'm talking to you now, but it's okay. All I need you to do is listen."

"I don't need to do anything you tell me." Keith growled out, chest heaving.

"Please, Keith. Everyone is waiting for you to come home. They all care about you-"

"SHUT UP! They don't care about me. They left me behind, forgot me, and all for what? Just because I was part Galra? Well when I kill you, they'll see just how Galra I really am."

Keith raised his sword and brought it down again and again, missing each time. Though whether it was purpose or by accident, Shiro couldn't tell.

"You're more than just Galra, Keith. You can fight this. I believe in you."

"Believe in me? Nobody believes in me. Nobody cares. Nobody loves me! I don't have any reason for even living!" As he spoke, Keith raised his final sword, a strike aimed for the heart at the ready.

He threw his hand down, sword moving, first at the speed of light, then in almost slow motion.

"_I_ LOVE YOU!"

Keith stopped, just inches from his target.

"None of that is true, because _I _love you, Keith. I always have. And all that time that I called myself your brother, I was really looking down at you... like a proud father." As he spoke, Shiro lifted his hand to cup Keith's face, making it just in time to catch a tear that fell from his left eye.

They both stood there for a moment, frozen, terrified, until Keith blinked once and his left eye returned to normal. And alongside that first tear, a million more seemed to come.

"Sh-Shiro?" Keith spoke softly, testing his voice as if it were the first time he was using it, all trace of malice seemed to have disappeared.

"Keith? Keith, I'm here." Forgetting the sword lodged in his stomach, Shiro made an attempt to move forward, jostling the injury slightly.

"Shiro… Shiro you have to kill me."

"What? No." Shiro knew that the situation was more dire and dangerous than he gave it credit for, he still refused to consider any world in which Keith didn't get out of this. Even if it meant he didn't. "Keith, l can't do that. You know I can't do that."

"You don't have a choice!" Keith's breath hitched as he spoke, but continued with a determination that only proved once more to Shiro that Keith was still in there. "I'm not strong enough, Shiro. He's just too powerful, and I'm to blame for it. For all of it. I'm sorry…"

Suddenly Keith's body began to tremble, including the hand that was currently holding a very sharp knife over Shiro's heart.

"Keith, none of this is your fault, but it will be if you just give up. You have to fight, Keith. I'm right here. So find. The strength. To fight_!" _

As if on cue, Keith used his free hand and locked his right wrist in a death grip, in an attempt to pull it and the knife away from Shiro. Sweat poured from Keith's brow as he struggled to pull it away. Shiro wanted to say something, provide Keith with some form of encouragement, but instead he was left mesmerized by the self battle before him and the deceivingly peaceful silence that had befallen them.

Breaking the silence, Keith let out one final scream, as he finally made some headway with the knife. At the same time a burst of energy radiated from Keith, burning so bright that Shiro had to avert his eyes, and somehow tangible enough to blow the both of them back. Shiro hit the wall behind him and Keith skidding to a stop a few feet in front of him, but the threat of the collapse of the building fell on both of them. The whole place was shaking.

Shiro only lost a few seconds from the blast, but it was enough to disorient him and leave him to wonder if Keith's "defeat" was due to the blast, or if he was just that good. Shiro, reluctantly, favored the former.

Disoriented as he was, nothing would get in the way of his brotherly (now fatherly?) instincts kicking in, and moved toward Keith as fast as possible. It was only when he moved toward Keith, that he realized, bot only that his wounds had somehow healed, but also that it somehow did nothing for his physical or mental exhaustion.

Shiro collapsed alongside Keith and hoped that they wouldn't be hit by any of the suddenly falling debris, as he slowly moved to check Keith's pulse. It was incredibly weak, but it was there, and, considering the fact that Keith had given no other indication to even being alive, Shiro knew it would have to do.

Instead, he closed his eyes and focused on Black, hoping that, despite recent events, Black would come and save them, at least for Keith's sake. In between calls, Shiro grabbed Keith's hand, hoping to keep them together and provide whatever comfort he could.

He didn't open his eyes again for some time after that, but he did feel the moment when the ground under them collapsed and he and Keith went into a free fall of sorts. He also felt the exact moment when they were swallowed by Black, who flooded Shiro's mind with warmth, comfort and the promise of understanding for Shiro's "betrayal" and whatever help she could offer to punish the man who hurt both her paladins.

Even in the midst of everything, Shiro couldn't help but feel incredibly happy and at peace, allowing him to rest for the first time in a long while. Which was good, because it would turn out that Keith wouldn't wake up for quite some time, and the near moment Shiro got back, he would be kicking the purple, Galran butt of a certain prince.


End file.
